


All They Want for Christmas

by sjhw_tolerance (mscorkill)



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-21
Updated: 2012-04-21
Packaged: 2017-11-04 01:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/388193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscorkill/pseuds/sjhw_tolerance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>aka Five Times Sam & Jack Didn’t Spend Christmas Together and Six Times They Did</p>
            </blockquote>





	All They Want for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Sam & Jack Atlantis Christmas fic seems to be the story du jour this year. Here's my contribution. Written for anr's 2007 "Five Time" Christmas challenge. Pure Christmas fluff, rated for older teens.
> 
> Originally posted December 2007

ALL THEY WANT FOR CHRISTMAS  
aka Five Times Sam & Jack Didn’t Spend Christmas Together and Six Times They Did

Sam stood at the balcony overlooking the gate room, smiling faintly as the last group of personnel heading to Earth for the Christmas holidays waited for the Stargate to engage. The temporary lull in replicator and Wraith activity in the Pegasus Galaxy had prompted her decision to allow Christmas leave for as many of the personnel who had wanted it. The final chevron locked and the familiar kawoosh erupted in the gate room before settling down into the shimmering event horizon. Sam glanced over to where Chuck sat at the controls. “It’s not too late.”

He looked up and grinned at her, shaking his head. “Nah. Connie’s staying,” he said, referring to his fiancé, “and besides, we’re saving all our leave for the wedding.”

Sam nodded and looked back to the gate room, firmly pushing back the melancholy she had sworn she wouldn’t let influence her. The obviously happy and lively group had diminished to just McKay, who stepped through the Stargate without a backward look, en route to Christmas with his sister and her family; Sheppard paused at the event horizon and looked back, raising his hand in a casual wave. Sam raised her hand in return and watched as he disappeared through the gate and the event horizon winked out. It had taken some convincing on her part to get Sheppard to agree to take leave, but he had relented before she’d had to make it an order, making an off-hand comment about Park City and skiing on his way out of her office. 

The few staff members who had come to wish the others farewell had wandered off, leaving just her and the duty personnel in the now quiet command center. The lights slowly dimmed and Sam wondered if Chuck had done it to save energy or if the city knew there wasn’t any need for the extra light. Probably a combination of both, she decided, turning away from the now dark gate room. 

“I’ll be in my office,” Sam said, weaving her way past Chuck and the few other staff members on duty. It wasn’t until she was in her office that she sighed, plopping down in the chair behind her desk. Swiveling around, she gazed at the pictures on the credenza, her eyes stopping on the one of her and Jack at the cabin. Leaning forward, she picked it up, smiling at the memory of her first fishing trip. Sighing again, she set it back down and sat back, staring out at nothing. 

She could have gone back to Earth for the holidays, but she’d felt it was important that she demonstrate that she was a full member of the expedition by staying behind and letting the others go. And while she really didn’t think she had anything to prove to Sheppard—or anyone else in the expedition for that matter—it had somehow become important to her that they could trust her with the well-being of Atlantis. Besides, it wasn’t like this was the first Christmas she’d spent without Jack. 

No…but it was the first Christmas they’d been apart since they’d finally become a couple. She knew he understood, which made it even harder. He’d been incredibly understanding and supportive ever since she’d decided to accept the position on Atlantis. It wasn’t a permanent posting, but it was an important one and she was determined to do a good job—and if that meant spending Christmas in the Pegasus Galaxy, then that’s where she’d spend Christmas.

Given that there wasn’t really anything that required her attention, Sam’s mind started to wander. She’d known Jack for how many years now? Eleven? And during those eleven years how many Christmases had they spent apart? Mentally counting in her head, she decided it was five. The first one was easy, it had been her first year at the SGC and she had barely known him then. Sam smiled fondly in remembrance. He’d been an enigma to her back then, not that it was really any different today. But at that point in time, she’d been too enthralled with the new worlds to be discovered in the galaxy to pay too much attention to her commanding officer’s personal life, or what he was going to do at Christmas.

She remembered that she’d gone to DC for Christmas that year, to see her father…with not such spectacular results. Her plans had been vague, and she had thought he’d be happy to see her and he had been, but Christmas with her hadn’t figured in with his plans. They’d had dinner together at her hotel on Christmas Eve and then he handed her a card, still in the bag from the hotel gift shop, kissed her cheek and left her sitting at the table, on his way to whatever function was more important than spending the holiday with his daughter. Not one of the best memories she had of her father, but typical for that period in their relationship. Swiveling back around, she looked at the picture of her father, thankful that she now had better memories of her him.

So if that was the first time, what was the second? Oh right…she frowned slightly, it had been when he was stranded on Edora. Which meant she had spent Christmas at the SGC, working frantically, endlessly and tirelessly to bring him back…also with less than spectacular results. It was also the first Christmas that she’d realized he meant more to her than he should, or was allowed. Not even an invitation from Janet to spend Christmas with her and Cassie had been able to pry her out of her lab and her single-minded determination to find a way to bring him home...to her. 

Sam had to think harder for the third time and then she remembered, it was the year her father had shown up unexpectedly at the SGC on Christmas Eve. At the time she’d had a weird feeling of déjà vu, his visit reminding her of the year she’d gone to DC unexpectedly to see him. She’d had other plans, which had included Jack and some vague plan to let him know she wanted something more with him, along with Christmas dinner. But when her father arrived, she’d smiled and hugged him and discreetly slipped away the first chance she got to call Jack and break her plans with him. He’d sounded disappointed, but Jack had understood then too and she only had herself to blame that she hadn’t found another occasion, or the courage, to tell him. 

She wasn’t so sure he’d understood the fourth time they’d spent Christmas apart. It wasn’t a time in her life she liked to dwell on now that she was with him. Christmas that year had fallen right after her accident on the Prometheus and her bizarre hallucinations. Everything that had once been so clear to her about her relationship with him had been thrown into confusion and doubt. And as a result, she’d spent Christmas brooding and alone. Which led inevitably to the fifth time they hadn’t spent Christmas together.

Pete…. Looking back, she should have realized that everything wasn’t right between them when he’d called at the last minute and cancelled their plans to go to his mother’s for Christmas. She had yet to meet her future mother-in-law and Christmas with his family was supposed to be her ‘debut’. But he had called on Christmas Eve, stumbling through an awkward explanation that his mother wasn’t feeling up to having any extra people over for the holidays and he hoped she would understand. 

There wasn’t much she could actually say to that, except that she understood—she hadn’t—but that was a moot point now. He’d been apologetic, promising to make it up to her and she had accepted his excuses and his explanation. She eventually had met Mrs. Shanahan, and had come away from the encounter with the distinct impression that the woman didn’t approve of her and didn’t think she was the right woman for her son. Sam smiled wryly, it seemed like the older woman’s instincts had been correct.

Which brought her back to the present and Christmas on Atlantis…without Jack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t the longest twenty-four hours he’d ever spent, Jack could remember several occasions when he’d been confined to the infirmary at the SGC which had been just as long and boring, but this did stand out as the longest lay-over of all time. Too bad he was confined to the ‘outbound’ suite at Midway; twelve hours in he was wishing for a little more company than the periodic check-in with the permanent personnel on Midway. And while he understood—and approved—the rationale for isolating those going to Atlantis from those traveling to Earth, the company would have been a welcome diversion. 

Be that as it may, rules and regulations were rules and regulations and he would just have to be patient. Lounging back on the somewhat comfortable bed, he reluctantly acknowledged it had been his idea to surprise Sam with his Christmas visit. What was the point in being a general if he couldn’t use his rank to his advantage every now and then? And besides…he couldn’t imagine spending Christmas without Sam.

Oh sure, he’d spent plenty of past Christmases without her, but now that they were together—and with her current assignment—it seemed more important than ever to spend the holiday together. He only hoped she wouldn’t be too pissed at him for the unexpected visit. Jack reached over to the bedside table and picked up his book; fishing his reading glasses out of his breast pocket he started reading again, only to toss the book back down after a couple of pages. 

He was tired of reading, he was tired of his Game Boy and he’d already done all the easy crossword puzzles in the puzzle book he’d brought with him. He wasn’t at all sure what time it was on Midway, but he was still on Eastern Standard Time and it was way past midnight for him. Maybe he’d try to get some sleep…sighing, he put his glasses away and after punching the pillow a few times, he shut off the lamp and laid down. Automatic night lights flickered on, not enough to keep someone awake, but enough to be mildly annoying. 

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, Jack rolled over, blocking out the subtle lighting. He tried to imagine that Sam was with him, but quickly realized that wasn’t the wisest idea, given his current solitary circumstances. Fidgeting for several minutes, he finally gave up and rolled onto his back, staring up at the dark ceiling. Only twelve more hours and it would be Christmas Eve and he’d be with Sam. 

This would be…what? Their third Christmas together, he decided. No wait, they had spent other Christmases together before he’d left the SGC. Folding his hands behind his head, Jack searched his memory. The first Christmas they spent together must’ve been that year after they’d gone to Washington for the medal ceremony that had turned into a non-ceremony. 

Back in those days, he had given up on Christmas and that year had been year no exception. He’d volunteered to be duty officer over the holidays and the quiet, almost deserted atmosphere at the base had suited him perfectly…until he’d seen Sam’s name scrawled on the night shift sign-in sheet. His curiosity had been aroused, mostly because he was sure he’d heard her say she was going back to DC to visit her father. Which was how he’d found her at 12:01 am on Christmas morning crying in her lab. 

She’d been quick to hide her tears and he hadn’t said anything, realizing he wasn’t meant to see them. Instead, he’d cajoled her into coming to the darkened dining hall and, as he’d teased her, using his authority as the holiday duty officer, commandeered two pieces of cake and matching glasses of milk. Calling on his somewhat rusty skills, he had managed to charm a smile out of her and looking back now, he realized that was the moment when it had all changed for him. 

It wasn’t until much later that he’d found out the reason she wasn’t in DC was because Jake was in the hospital and wouldn’t see her. And by then it hadn’t mattered, he had already fallen hard and deep. 

Of course, he remembered with a grin, the next Christmas they’d spent together hadn’t been just the two of them—Loren, Daniel and Teal’c had been with them in that Goa’uld pleasure palace, going through detox. Technically Teal’c wasn’t going through withdrawal, which made him their go-between and the deliverer of their holiday goodies from the SGC when their recovery time extended over Christmas. 

It had actually turned out to be one of the more festive holidays he’d spent in many years, introducing Loren to their customs, finding and decorating a tree, cajoling Fraiser to authorize the extra supplies they’d requested. But in spite of the all the holiday trappings, there was still a certain awkwardness and uncertainty between the two of them. Keeping their feelings ‘in the room’ had never proved harder than ever those weeks they were forced to spend together. But…he understood her concern…and her reluctance.

So if that was the third time…Jack frowned in the darkness, searching his memory for the next time. Oh right, the year they’d gone skiing—with Teal’c and Jonas. He loved to ski and, to his pleasant surprise, Sam enjoyed it too and was a good skier. And oddly enough, Teal’c had been unexpectedly graceful on the slopes and Jonas, who claimed he’d never skied a day in his life, had been a natural, taking to the slopes and leaving them all behind in the dust…er…powder. 

That had been a good year, even with the loss of Daniel still haunting them. There had been an ease between him and Sam that had been missing for a long time and it almost seemed like they’d reached the point where they had moved beyond the self-imposed limitations of their relationship. He smiled wryly in the darkness, okay so it taken a bit longer than that trip (or that year) for them to finally come to their respective senses, but thank god, they had eventually. Which was why he was so eager to get to her now. Even with their diverging careers and the distances involved, the last two years had been more than he’d ever hoped to have with her.

It hadn’t been one of the easier things he’d ever done, embarking on a relationship with Sam Carter when they were separated by so many miles, but it was by far the most rewarding. And after everything they’d been through, a few thousands miles was nothing compared to the contentment that being with her gave him. The last two times they’d spent Christmas together were easy, mainly because it had been the last two Christmases. 

The first Christmas after he’d moved to DC, he’d flown back to Colorado Springs for Christmas. He and Sam had braved Hank and Libby Landry’s Christmas Eve open house, officially going public with their relationship. Since most of their close friends already knew, it hadn’t been that traumatic—or dramatic. And even after all their years at the SGC and all the speculation, there were still some surprised faces amongst the guests at the open house. They’d then spent Christmas day quietly at her house with Cassie, on Christmas vacation from university and who thankfully seemed to have gotten her life back on track and was once more a smiling, happy girl. Young woman, Jack corrected himself. Both Cass and Sam would so kick his ass if they heard him refer to her that way.

Last Christmas he’d persuaded Sam to come with him to the lake for the holidays. Though they had managed to spend several weekends and even a whole week during the summer there, she had never been there in the winter and he was eager to show her the beauty of Northern Minnesota in the winter. Which had actually been much colder and filled with a hell of a lot more snow than he’d remembered, but it had still been a great week. He hadn’t been able to convince her to go ice fishing, but they had gone snow shoeing, cross country skiing and he had made her his infamous eggnog. 

Jack was positive there wasn’t anything better—in this galaxy or the next—than sitting in front of a roaring fire with Sam snuggled up against his side with plenty of brandy-laced eggnog. He figured there probably weren’t too many fireplaces on Atlantis, none that he’d seen anyway during the few times he’d visited, but he had a bottle of brandy carefully packed in his duffel and he figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to plan a covert operation into the galley on Atlantis and mix up some of his brew. 

Rolling over, Jack picked his watch up off the bedside table and squinted at the luminous dial, eleven and half more hours. Sighing heavily, he set the watch down and resigned himself to a long, long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam sighed softly, taking another sip of tea and picking up the next mission report. The quiet of her office had finally gotten to her and she’d taken the stack of mission reports to the dining hall, welcoming the occasional interruption from the various staff members who wanted to have a quick chat or just say “Merry Christmas” to relieve the monotony of reading the reports. But no one had bothered her for the past hour and so when she heard Chuck’s voice in her ear, she welcomed the break.

“Colonel?”

“Yes, Chuck. What is it?”

“We have an unscheduled gate activation.”

“I’ll be right there!” Sam stood, quickly gathering the folders and hurrying from the dining hall. While she hadn’t minded the interruptions provided by her staff on Christmas Eve, she wasn’t so sure about an unexpected visitor. It didn’t take her long to reach the control room and the calm atmosphere, along with the relaxed demeanor of Chuck and the other two technicians on duty, reassured her that nothing was too amiss.

“Who is it?” she asked, looking over Chuck’s shoulder at the console. The IDC displayed was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“It’s an SGC priority code, ma’am.” Chuck looked confused now. “We haven’t had any communication from them….”

“Open the iris,” she directed. There was really only one person she could think of who would use that particular code and while she didn’t want to get her hopes up, she never-the-less felt a surge of excitement. The marines on guard duty in the gate room where standing with their weapons at the ready when the energy barrier guarding the gate dissolved. Sam was halfway down the steps when the event horizon rippled and their unexpected visitor stepped into the room.

“Surprise!” Jack O’Neill announced with a grin. 

Sam’s smile widened and as much as she wanted to run down the rest of the stairs and throw herself into his arms, she was very aware of the curious looks from the control room staff and the marines. So, she forced herself to walk slowly and stopped a respectable distance in front of him. He looked good, dressed casually in his usual khakis, a pullover and his leather jacket, acting for all the world like he’d just shown up on her doorstep in Colorado Springs instead of a galaxy million of light years away.

“General. This is a surprise.”

He grinned, letting the strap of his duffel slide down his arm, letting it slip to the floor. “Well, you know me, Carter. Always full of them.”

She shook her head and spoke softly, so only he could hear. “You’re always full of something.”

His grin grew even wider and she couldn’t help but smile in return. It was so good to see him and she wouldn’t even care if it was official business that brought him to Atlantis, as long as it meant that he was here—with her. 

“Carter?” His voice broke through her musings. “You gonna’ call off your marines?” he asked, gesturing to the guards who still held their weapons ready.

“Right,” she said, feeling flustered in only the way he could make her flustered. “At ease,” she ordered. “Have General O’Neill’s luggage taken to my quarters.” 

Sam didn’t wait for a confirmation, and ignoring the amused expression on Jack’s face, she turned and slowly started walking back towards the stairs. He fell into step with her and whispered, “Wasn’t that a little obvious?”

She shrugged. “It will save them having to speculate. Besides,” she added, smiling at him, “They’ve all seen the picture of you in my office.”

“Ah.”

“So is this an official visit or a social one?” Sam paused at the top of the stairs and looked at him.

“Oh,” he drawled, his eyes sparkling. “Purely a social one.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mmmm,” Sam moaned. “This is so good.”

Jack looked on in amusement as Sam licked her lips and then gave him a longing look from under her lashes. “More?”

Sam’s private quarters were spacious and almost luxurious in comparison to the guest quarters he’d been given the last time he visited Atlantis. Of course, he’d also spent part of his time in the brig, so it probably wasn’t a fair comparison. This time was completely different, it was Christmas Eve and he was with the woman he loved. The late afternoon sun streamed into the large, window-filled room; the soft light made Sam’s eyes look even bluer and suffused her skin with a soft glow. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders and—once again—dressed in the silky red nightgown he’d found in one of his dresser drawers and impulsively thrown into his duffel, she looked utterly and totally gorgeous. As for him, he was feeling lazy, indulgent and incredibly satisfied. 

“There’s always more where that came from,” he rumbled. 

She made another soft little moan and opened her mouth, her eyelashes fluttering shut and a fresh surge of lust swelled through him. Never taking his eyes off her, Jack fumbled for the bag resting next to him on the bed and pulled out another cherry cordial kiss, nimbly peeling the foil off of it and then placing it carefully between Sam’s teeth. He almost moaned himself when her lips closed lightly around his fingers in a brief caress before she lay back against the pillows and savored the chocolate, a blissful expression on her face.

So far his surprise Christmas visit to Atlantis was rapidly exceeding even his high expectations. After a ‘tour’ that he suspected was more for show than anything, even though he couldn’t help but notice her obvious pride in the staff and the city, they had eaten lunch in the dining hall and then—to his delight and amazement—retired to her quarters and her bed. And while their relationship was more than just about sex, making love with her always seemed just that much more intense after they’d been separated for any length of time. 

Oh hell, who was he kidding? They could be separated for thirty minutes and he’d still want her just as desperately.

“So,” he said, unwrapping another cherry kiss. “Glad I came?”

“Definitely,” she said, smiling up at him from amongst the rumpled bed clothes. He held the chocolate kiss up in front of her and she grabbed it out of his hand and immediately popped it in her mouth. Jack scooted closer and sprawled out on the pillows next to her, keeping the bag of chocolates close. 

“Did you know,” she commented as she snuggled close to him, “that this should have been the sixth Christmas we didn’t spend together but now it’s the sixth Christmas we’re spending together?”

Rolling over onto his side, Jack propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at her, idly toying with a strand of her hair that was draped over her shoulder. “Yeah,” he said, leaning down and kissing her, the sweet taste of the chocolate mingling with the taste that was pure Sam Carter. “I knew that.”

THE END


End file.
